Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka)
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 09/08/2012
Admittedly, this critic is not a huge fan of anime's so browsing for the best on this site is very helpful (just to avoid the bad ones). Truly a film that is even better than most drama/war films, it's impossible to not get emotional after viewing this. It's bountiful symbolisms and subjects represented is worth viewing. More about that throught this review. Victims of World War II 14-year-old Seita and his young 4-year-old sister Setsuko stay with their aunt. The pair experience the unfortunae events that befall them. Things worsen as the days go by for Setsuko and Seita when they leave their relative. They utilize fireflies for light when they transfer.
Gorgeous cinematography for its genre with a very dark yet realistic flick. Symbolisms of the fireflies onscreen was …
Rating of
4/4
Heartbreaking. An absolute masterpiece.
JTurner - wrote on 05/31/2009
Truly one of Studio Ghibli's greatest crowning achievements, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES is a brilliant masterpiece fully deserving of a place in any of the best movies ever made. Directed by Isao Takahata, the film follows two Japanese children struggling to survive in the aftermath of World War II. Having lost their home and mother, they at first stay with a bitter, self-serving relative, but ultimately decide to run away to a cave. Both try by all means to live off of vegetables or whatever food they can afford to trade and/or steal, to no avail. Normally one would think of this subject as more appropriate for live-action, but GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES proves that it can be told through the art of animation as well. This is no mindless showcase of gorgeous visuals--although the artistic …
